Grades/Level: Lower Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5)
Subjects: Visual Arts, English–Language Arts
Time Required: 3–5–Part Lesson
One to three class periods
Author: J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Permissions:
The lesson plan and downloadable materials on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Lesson Overview

Students will focus on how one artist tells the story of Joseph using continuous narrative. By observing and discussing visual details such as color and movement found in the painting, students write about what they think is happening. Students are encouraged to use the actions they observed in the painting to create and write a new story with a new character, and then illustrate them in their own continuous narrative.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:
• observe a painting with a continuous narrative depicting the story of Joseph.
• discuss the use of visual details such color and movement in the painting.
• create and write a story with a new character based on the action depicted in continuous narrative painting.
• draw the character and story as a continuous narrative.

Materials

• Reproduction of The Story of Joseph by Biagio d'Antonio
• Background Information and Questions for Teaching about The Story of Joseph by Biagio d'Antonio
• Student Handout: "Continuing the Narrative: Take a Journey through a Painting"
• Pens and/or pencils
• Student Handout: "Continuing the Narrative: Create a Journey in a Painting"
• Colored pencils, markers, crayons
• Paper (8 1/2" x 11") (optional)

Lesson Steps

1. Show students the reproduction of The Story of Joseph by Biagio d'Antonio.

2. Have a class discussion, prompting students with the questions from the Background Information and Questions for Teaching about The Story of Joseph by Biagio d'Antonio.

3. Continue to display the reproduction of The Story of Joseph by Biagio d'Antonio, and also pass out color copies of the handout "Continuing the Narrative: Take a Journey through a Painting," along with the pens and/or pencils.

4. Guide students to complete the writing activity in the handout "Continuing the Narrative: Take a Journey through a Painting."

5. Tell students that in the next activity, they will use their action words from the previous handout to conceive an original story with a new character. Explain to them that they will create a drawing depicting this character and their original story on the handout.

6. Pass out the handout "Continuing the Narrative: Create a Journey in a Painting." Also provide the colored pencils, markers, crayons, and any additional paper students will need to complete the activity.

7. Guide student to complete the activity in the handout "Continuing the Narrative: Create a Journey in a Painting."

Assessment

Students will be assessed on their
• understanding of continuous narrative in a painting and the use of visual details such color and movement.
• understanding of the story depicted in a painting with continuous narrative.
• written story with a character.
• drawing of their character and story as a continuous narrative.

Extensions

Have students display their finished artwork in the classroom. Then have an artwalk where students can observe all of their creations and answer questions about them.

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades 1–5

SPEAKING AND LISTENING
1.4 Describe familiar people places, things, and events, with relative details expressing ideas and feelings more clearly.
2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and text with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audible in coherent sentences.
3.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to support particular points.
4.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

WRITING
1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
2.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
4.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
5.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.